


Closer Together

by silveradept



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Red String of Fate, Background Rose of Winter, Multi, Older Oscar, background Bumblebee
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-12
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-06-26 03:30:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15654867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silveradept/pseuds/silveradept
Summary: Three perspectives on one relationship, over time, as it becomes both two and stays the one that it always was.





	1. Qrow

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TereziMakara](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TereziMakara/gifts).



Every time we met, it began with an apology.

You saw us, two ravens from the wilds, trying to fit in as if we had always been part of this city life, and you offered only two words.

"I'm sorry."

Raven, always ready to fight, challenged you on why.

"For the pain," you'd said. "I'm sorry for the pain you will suffer."

Long before we knew who you were, I'll bet you saw it. You probably had a flash of the future, when you'd given us all our gifts, and you saw what we did with them. You always had a way of knowing who would be a good fit. You could tell a story that was exactly what we needed to hear. You were so good at it that we didn't notice what you weren't telling us.

Raven loved your stories about the red string. She needed the idea of people being tied together in fate so much that I think it influenced her Semblance. She could always keep tabs on us, then. We used to joke about it, but I could see it in her aura - red flecks, not coming from her fingers, but from her heart. When she gets attached, she makes her own strings. Even if she doesn't care about you any more, that string still connects you.

I had a few of my own in those early days. I think they started about the time that you made us a team, Oz. And then, well, Summer left, and both Raven and Taiyang couldn't deal with having their string connected to the dead. They blamed my Semblance for it, and the team broke apart.

You know what happened to me after that. I'm pretty sure you saw the pain. And all you did was apologize. While I yelled at you, swore at you, blamed you for everything terrible that happened to us, and tried to make it all go away by drinking until I couldn't any more, all you said was how sorry you were about it.

And then you showed me what you had always seen - the red string that connected us, much stronger than the ones Raven had made. I'm pretty sure that I swore at you even more then, because there was no way I was falling in love with the person who had ripped apart my team.

"The red string does not always signify romance," you told me, "just an intertwining of fates. Abandoning you would be casting a part of myself away."

It wasn't easy, staying. But you were the closest thing I had to a family at that point, Oz. I think you knew that, too. There are a lot of times where I thought things would have been easier with a whole team, with Summer, or Raven, but I did what you wanted, Oz. Every single time.

Every time, I brought you bad luck and worse news, and all you did was apologize and send me somewhere else.

You promised you would protect my nieces, Oz. You said the school was the safest place they could be. That any student could be. As long as you were there, they would be safe.

You lied to me, Oz. I believed you. And now you're gone, so I can't even call you out for it.

Not you, anyway. And probably not until this kid is older.


	2. Oscar / Ozpin

\--- OSCAR ---

"I'm sorry, kid," the older man ([Qrow], says Ozpin's voice, his consciousness floating in my head close by) says, handing me a strange cylinder that I know is a cane, despite never having seen it before. "You probably didn't want to get involved in this. But you're him, at least as much as he's in your head, and we need him. So we need you."

As welcome as the confirmation is that I'm not going crazy from the heat, or my work, it doesn't solve any of my problems.

"What do I do with this?" I asked, even as my hands found a comfortable grip with it.

"Save the world, maybe," he responds. "It belonged to a man that I would follow anywhere. But he's gone, and you're him, and I can't take it my frustration on you, because you don't know, and you're a kid, and there isn't anything I can do about it."

There's a growing edge to Qrow's voice, as if he can't decide whether to give in to fury or grief.

[What did you do to him?] I asked Ozpin.

[I broke a promise,] he said. [One that I do not intend to break again.]

"Do you want to talk to him?" I asked Qrow.

"No," he said. "I can't talk about...everything with him. I can pretend he's not there if I try hard enough. I can tell him that he was wrong - his red string still connects us, and now I can't tell him I miss him in person."

[What does he mean?] I was confused already, and these conversations weren't helping.

[Qrow and I are connected in a great destiny,] Ozpin replied. [You and Qrow are now connected in a similar way. One of the skills that I can teach you is to see those connections between people.]

"You know," Qrow went on, "If you got me drunk enough, I might be even been able to admit I loved him, smug ass that he was."

"How drunk is 'enough'?" I asked, considering how much he already smelled like a tavern.

"A lot more than this, kid," Qrow said, taking a healthy swig from his flask.

[Qrow's capacity for alcohol was...legendary when we were both alive,] Ozpin noted wryly. [I can only imagine that in the time since my...disappearance, his tolerance has grown even greater.]

"I suppose that's good," I said. "It would probably be awkward for you to confess your feelings at this point."

Both Ozpin and Qrow laughed a short laugh.

"Okay, Oz, I've found you and delivered your cane. Now what? Salem is still out there, Beacon is scattered, and there's a Maiden working for the enemy. I don't suppose you have a plan, do you?"

Before I could ask, I felt Ozpin taking over my body.

[Hey!] I shouted at him. [My body, my rules. For as long as you're here, you ask before you just take over.]

[My apologies,] he said sincerely, [I am still...adjusting. It has been long enough since I had to share the body that I forgot. I will ask first, unless the situation demands it. Will you let me take over for a while?]

I decided that I didn't really want to know what kind of situations would demand it, and I let him have the body, so that Qrow could talk to him directly. It looked like it was going to be a long meeting.

\--- OZPIN ---

"I'm sorry," I said, through Oscar. "It can be difficult to remember what you accomplished without my tutelage, before we returned. I still think of you as students, sometimes."

"We haven't been students since Beacon fell," Ms. Xaio Long snapped at me. A dangerous glint in her eyes suggested her Semblance might engage to channel her rage into a useful form.

"We all lost a lot then. Some of us lost more than others." She gestured at Mr. Arc, deliberately using the prosthetic arm she had been gifted by James as an apology for losing the one made of flesh.

"Stop. Keeping. Secrets." she finished.

It was clear that anything other than complete honesty would not do.

"Very well, then. The stories that you heard about the world are all true. There was a wizard, who invested much of his power in four Maidens, each granted mastery over a season, who then went on to win a great war and found academies all over Remnant to fight the Grimm. He is opposed by someone who cannot kill him, but intends to make his repeated lives miserable until her ultimate defeat. One of the Maidens works directly for her now, and another lives with bandits who no longer care about anything but themselves. This body is the latest reincarnation of the wizard, and will help you train to defeat the monsters, as I promised I would when you were my students at Beacon."

"And the birds?" Ms. Xaio Long added pointedly.

"Yes. Magic exists in this world that is not powered by Dust. It is rare, and vanishing, but it is real, and it is why Qrow and Raven can turn into birds. I gave them that magic to help them be better at the work I was asking them to do."

Miss Valkyrie broke whatever dramatic tension Ms. Xiao Long was aiming for by realizing why they were named Qrow and Raven, and after Miss Rose left to make dinner, everything appeared to be normal again.

In my absence, they had become a team, trained by their circumstances. The battles they had executed together had deepened the strings that linked them. Miss Rose had many of them connected to her. She reminded me of her mother, in that regard. One string connected to Miss Rose, and one very strongly connected to Ms. Xaio Long, pointed in the direction of Menagerie, where I expected Miss Belladonna might be convinced to rejoin us yet.

[They can't see them, can they?] Oscar asked.

[They cannot,] I replied. [Seeing the strings of fate requires more than Dust at your disposal. Manipulating them requires greater power still, and often causes more problems than it solves.]

[Are you ever going to talk to Qrow about his feelings for you?] Oscar pressed.

[It would be difficult for him, and for us. You are still young and we have not yet matured into who we will become. For now, it seems more appropriate for you to be a target of Miss Rose's practice attempts at expressing romantic interests.]

[I don't think she's interested in me,] Oscar said, mentally shrugging.

[An astute assessment,] I replied. [I think Miss Rose might take after her adopted sister in more ways than one.]

"Oscar?"

Miss Schnee entered the room.

"Can I talk to Ozpin, please?" she asked.

Oscar nodded and gave way to me.

"What can I help you with, Miss Schnee?"

"Weiss," she said immediately. "Jacques poisoned the Schnee name and company to the point where I don't want to hear it right now."

"Weiss, then."

"Could you give me some...advice?"

"Certainly. Dust is volatile and should be handled with care."

"Not that," Miss Sch...Weiss said, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face. "About...love."

I tried to make an encouraging gesture.

"Go on."

"Did you and Qrow ever...do anything together? Like, dating? Or something else?" Weiss blushed, clearly thinking of things she was not saying.

"Qrow and I did not do anything that might have come from Miss Belladonna's extensive collection of the 'Ninjas of Love' series, no."

Weiss's blush deepened, confirming my suggestions of what she was thinking of when she asked the question.

"In fact," I continued, "I fear I may have been too busy being Beacon's headmaster to take time for my personal life, to reciprocate Qrow's feelings at all, or to acknowledge that there were feelings between us in the first place."

"Was it scary?" Weiss asked.

"Love is always frightening, Weiss. It is a risk to tell someone that you care about them so deeply that you want to be a significant part of their lives. It is always possible that they do not feel the same way, or to the same intensity that you do. Some people do not take the risk, because the fear of rejection is greater than the happiness of acceptance."

Weiss nodded. "Is it worth the risk?" she asked.

"On that subject, I am not qualified to comment," I said. "I have yet to actually take the risk, in all the lifetimes that I have lived, and all the people who have confessed their love to me."

"Because of Salem?"

"Yes," I said carefully, "and no. While Salem would not hesitate to kill anyone she thought was close to me, there is also the small matter of my continued reincarnation in other bodies. Even if Salem were less of a threat, I do not believe it would be comforting to anyone to have a partner who didn't age as quickly as they did and who had the distinct possibility of completely disappearing and needing to be found in another body."

Weiss nodded. "Well, I don't have to deal with that, at least. Just...the possibility of feeling like a failure again."

I made sure not to show the smile I was feeling, because it would have been taken to be making light of Weiss's plight, but I was proud of the effort she was making.

"Weiss, do you remember what Professor Port said to you when you complained about Miss Rose's selection as team leader?"

"He told me that my behavior wasn't going to help my case."

"And?" I prompted. Peter had said more than that, I'm sure, even if it wasn't the most relevant thing at the time.

"He told me that if I were willing to work hard, I would be able to back my bluster with actual skills."

"Peter tends to be blunt when he's trying to make a point. You project confidence to the outside world, even if you are terrified inside. I think that if you project that confidence when you ask, the person you want to attract will respond to this."

I could see the string that connected Weiss's Aura to Miss Rose's begin to solidify and gain importance. Mr. Arc would be disappointed that one of his hopefuls wasn't available any more, but this time, I suspected he would handle it better.

Weiss rose to leave.

"You have all the skills, Professor Ozpin. Perhaps it would be useful for you to...bluster some," she said at the doorway. "Good night, Professor."

[What are your feelings on the matter, Oscar?] I asked.

[I think Ruby and Weiss would make a cute couple,] he replied.

[It is a common occurrence for people on the same team to develop long-term relationships, but I was referring to the matter of our own red strings. Qrow does not see you as he did me, but as our personalities and souls merge together more, it is entirely possible that my feelings for Qrow will spill over into you.]

[I'm...not ready for that yet,] Oscar noted. [I'm not entirely sure what I think is attractive. Qrow is impressive in a lot of ways, but I'm not sure how a relationship with him would work. I'm not sure I could stand having everything continually breaking and needing repair.]

I chuckled.

[His Semblance does pose a problem. We will have to find a balance. Or perhaps only meet where we do not care if things break.]

A knock at the door gathered our attention. Miss Rose entered the room and very quickly enveloped us in a hug.

"Thank you," she said. "Whatever you told Weiss, it worked."

As swiftly as she had entered, Miss Rose left.

[Time for bed?] Oscar asked. [I don't think there are many days ahead where we can say we ended on a victory.]

[I think that sounds wise. Good night, Oscar.]


	3. Ozcar

"Why the sudden change of heart, Oz?" Qrow leaned back against the wall of our room.

"It is not sudden. We both agreed that we would wait until at least until the merge was complete before we made any decisions. I was hoping that I would at least be able to contemplate the terror of this being my last lifetime, but alas. We may not be able to permanently defeat Salem until the last Grimm dies."

"Don't change the subject," Qrow said. "You've known that there were strings attached to us for a very long time. Why act on them now?"

"I'm sure you have noticed by now that courage is not a virtue I have in abundance. Raven is correct when she calls me a coward, even if I personally prefer to think of it as not being seen."

Qrow snorted and drank again from his flask.

"There is an additional wrinkle," I said. "Oscar's body has developed a Semblance over these intervening years very much unlike any other I have seen so far. I suspect it has quite a bit to do with my arrival at such a young age."

"So? What is it?" Qrow said.

"I think it better to show you."

I took a breath to steady my heart, and then tapped into the Aura and my Soul, and created the thing Qrow wanted to see the most - the old headmaster he had grown to love.

"Oz?" Qrow said.

"Yes," Ozpin said. "It's actually somewhat disconcerting viewing the same person from two angles simultaneously."

"How?"

"Oscar's Semblance is rooted in preserving himself," Oscar said, "and so he can use his Aura to provide a temporary body for any of the parts of his soul that came from a reincarnation. I could look like any of my past lives, if I wanted."

"There are some limits--" Ozpin began before Qrow grabbed him in a hug, lifting him off the ground and squeezing him mightily.

In that hug, I saw it -- a bright flare of the strings that connected all of us, before rearranging themselves into a triskelion.

[You've decided, then?] Ozpin asked.

[I have,] Oscar replied. [I saw his heart, and it was the most beautiful thing I have seen.]

[Let us take good care of him, then,] Ozpin said.

"I'm not going to let go of you again," Qrow said. "Either of you."

"I have no intention of letting that happen again," Ozcar replied.


End file.
